


samsarga

by AllegoriesInMediasRes



Series: Mahabharata fics [16]
Category: Mahabharata - Vyasa
Genre: Canon Compliant, Female Friendship, Gen, Missing Scene, Oneshot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-10-10 01:46:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17416634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllegoriesInMediasRes/pseuds/AllegoriesInMediasRes
Summary: Draupadi has always had unanswered questions where Sita and Hanuman are concerned, and Rukmini is there to hear them. Set during exile, shortly after Bhima returns with the golden lotus.samsarga (Sanskrit): point of intersection(Related to my other fic,krodh, but no need to read that one as well.)





	samsarga

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [krodh](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17217254) by [AllegoriesInMediasRes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllegoriesInMediasRes/pseuds/AllegoriesInMediasRes). 



Sahadev is exasperated with Draupadi, when Bhima returns from fetching the golden lotus and meeting his godly half-brother Hanuman. “Not enough that Arjun has been gone for months now, but you must see Bhima gone? Did Sita not put her husband in danger by sending him after the golden deer? And you send Bhima after a golden lotus!”

It is only Kunti’s voice whispering in her ears, _he is the youngest, the most vulnerable of them, be gentle with him, please, I beg of you, daughter_ , that stays Panchali’s tongue, only for her revered mother’s sake that she does not snap, _I cannot even ask for so much as a flower from my husbands, much less protection?_

It’s Yudhisthira, of all people, who comes to her defense. “If not for Sita and Panchali, how would Lord Rama and Bhima ever have met Hanuman?”

It’s a distinctively Yudhisthira-like answer, with its typical brand of optimism, but it’s enough to silence Nakul and Sahadev. Draupadi recognizes her chance and takes refuge from the menfolk with Rukmini, sharing a bunch of grapes in the shade of a tree not far from the hut.

Bhima’s encounter with Lord Rama’s most faithful devotee is enough to revive the memories of their discussions of the Ramayana. In particular, one of Draupadi’s long-standing questions: “Why didn’t Sita just leave with Hanuman, when he turned up in Lanka?”

Safety, chastity, obedience, wifely devotion, the scriptures sing, and none of those answers has ever satisfied Draupadi. “A monkey who jumped across the ocean, yojanas and yojanas, just to find her. I would have just gone. If I had a recourse like that, I would have grasped at it with both hands.”

Rukmini smiles gently. “Do you know nothing of playing the long game?”

Draupadi doesn’t understand.

“If she had simply left, Ravana would have remained alive.”

Draupadi frowns.

Rukmini sighs.

“Lord Rama promised, over and over, that if Ravana surrendered Sita, he would leave Lanka -- lay down his weapons, go home, no questions asked. If he had Sita back, he had no reason to wage a war.”

“But he still would have had every right, if for no other reason than the insult to his _dharma_.” Draupadi pops three grapes into her mouth at once, chewing vigorously.

Rukmini smiles. “And we come to the thin line where dharma and ideals meet reality. You have all the justification, but with war comes blood on both sides, and Lord Rama was eager to avoid that if possible.”

“And Sita must have known that.” Understanding begins to dawn on Draupadi’s face.

Rukmini nods. “She knew her lord’s heart, and she knew that she wanted Ravana dead. By staying there in the _ashok vatika_ , she knew that Rama would have to come for her, and that she would see the Lord of Lanka dead. Even if she risked becoming Dashanan’s breakfast, it was worth it for her.”

Something like relief uncreases the furrow in Draupadi’s brow, that there is someone else who was willing to throw all into the fires of vengeance. “And best of all, no one could fault her reasoning.”

It’s the perfect intersection -- an opportunity to satisfy her bloodlust while securing glory for her husband, so simple and elegant in its perfection that Draupadi smiles.


End file.
